Madras HC stays order banning cattle trade

The Madras high court suspended on Tuesday a central government rule that outlawed sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets and triggered a political storm in India.

Even as the court ordered a four-week stay on the notification, the Centre said it was examining the points raised by states, including Kerala and West Bengal, which call the order an attack on India’s federal structure.

The government, however, denied trying to restrict food habits of the people through the notification that has led to protests and staging of beef festivals in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Congress activists in Kerala killed a cow in a public square on Saturday, an act that sparked outrage and forced party leaders to condemn the incident. A PhD scholar who participated in a campus beef festival at the IIT-Madras was allegedly assaulted by some students on Tuesday, the police said. Critics say the rule — banning the sale of cows, bulls, bullocks, buffaloes, steers, heifers, calves, and camels for slaughter —violates individual rights. “The slaughtering of animals for food, the food and culinary (items) made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals are part of cultural identity...,” petitioners Selvagomathy and Asik Ilahi Bhava said.

The slaughtering of animals for food, the food and culinary (items) made out of such animal flesh and offering sacrifice of animals are part of cultural identity..., SELVAGOMATHY AND ASIK ILAHI BHAVA, petitioners